UK settlement ban may hurt Palestinian workers, say West Bank businesses

Ed Miliband unveiled a sanctions regime aimed at products originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, labeling the settlements as illegal and accusing settler groups of ethnic cleansing. The policy, which will not be enforced for six to nine months, targets companies like Maya Food Industries that export around one million euros of goods to Britain each year and employ hundreds of Palestinians. Arab-Israeli businessman Samech, who runs Aleph Samech and employs 20 Palestinians, says the ban would harm 7,000 Palestinian commuters and dozens of families.

Workers such as Ibrahim, a long-time employee at Maya Food Industries in the Mishor Adumim industrial park, fear the measures will reduce work hours and income. The British embassy in Tel Aviv warned that the restrictions could impact 17,600 Palestinians working in settlement zones, underscoring the complex local opposition despite official support from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.